Rick Nash
The kid they drafted first became the heartbeat of a franchise learning to beat.
Rick Nash is the name that defined the Columbus Blue Jackets' first true identity as an NHL franchise. Selected first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, he became the face of a young organization desperate to prove it belonged among the league's elite, and for a decade he delivered exactly that — a blur of speed, a one-timer that left defenders frozen, and a scoring touch that made Nationwide Arena (then Scottrade Center, then FirstEnergy Center) feel electric every time he touched the puck.
His tenure from 2004 to 2015 is inseparable from the Blue Jackets' story. He was the player fans rallied behind, the reason season tickets sold out, the kid from the draft board who turned into the most exciting offensive weapon in the building. When he was eventually dealt to the New York Rangers, it marked the end of an era and the beginning of the team's next chapter.
- Position
- Left Wing
- Jersey Number
- #87
- Draft
- 1st overall, 2004 NHL Entry Draft
- Blue Jackets Tenure
- 2004–2015
- Career-High Goals (NHL)
- 44 (2006–07 season)
- Notable Trait
- Elite speed and one-timer finishing
Lore & Background
In the summer of 2004, Columbus had just survived its second season in the NHL and was still figuring out what it meant to be a hockey city. The Blue Jackets had Rick DiMaio in net, a scrappy defensive core, and a front office that knew they needed a star to anchor the franchise's future. When the draft night arrived and the number one pick was called, the name that came back was Rick Nash — a young winger with lightning feet and a finishing instinct that scouts had whispered about for years. The building exhaled. The city had its kid.
His rookie season in 2004–05 was a learning curve, but by 2006–07 Nash had become something special. Forty-four goals, a top-five scorer in the league, and a reputation as the most dangerous player on the ice when the game was on the line. He was the reason opponents checked him harder, the reason fans chanted his name, the reason the Blue Jackets' identity shifted from "promising expansion team" to "a franchise with a genuine superstar." The mid-2000s Blue Jackets were built around his rhythm — quick transitions, his one-timer from the circle, the way he could separate from a defenceman in two strides and be gone.
His departure in 2015 to the New York Rangers was a wound that Columbus fans still talk about. It wasn't just losing a player; it was losing the thread that connected the franchise's early optimism to its later ambitions. Nash had been the constant, the #87 on the board, the reason a kid in a small Ohio city believed the Blue Jackets could be a contender. After that trade, the team entered a rebuilding phase that would define the next several years, and the locker room felt different without the speed and swagger he brought to every shift.
In Their Own Story
The arena was half-empty in the third period, the kind of Tuesday night where the crowd had thinned to the die-hards and the families who'd brought kids to see their first game. The Blue Jackets were down two, and the Rangers defenceman was draped across Nash's stick, trying to slow the transition. Nash didn't slow. He never slowed. He took the puck out of the neutral zone with a quick deke, the ice cracking under his skates, and by the time the defenceman's hand came off his shoulder, Nash was already in the offensive zone, the puck glued to his blade.
He cut to the circle. The goalie came out. Nash didn't wind up, didn't set his shoulders — just a flick of the wrist, the one-timer that had become his signature, the shot that left no time to react. The puck hit the back of the net before the goalie's glove was even halfway up. The crowd noise swelled, a wave of sound rolling over the glass, and Nash skated back on defense with that half-smile, that look of mild surprise, like he hadn't quite expected it to go in.
It was 2007. It was Columbus. And for that one shift, the city believed.
Reader's Guide
The Rick Nash era (2004–2015) is the foundational chapter of Blue Jackets identity. Before him, the franchise was a scrappy expansion team trying to find its voice. After his arrival, Columbus had a star, a reason to be excited, a player whose name was on the marquee.
What defined this era was the contrast between the team's modest roster and Nash's elite play. He was often the best player on the ice, carrying the offensive load in a league where Columbus rarely had the depth to surround a star. His 2006–07 season, with 44 goals, remains the high-water mark of that period and the moment the Blue Jackets proved they could produce a genuine NHL superstar.
Why it matters: Nash gave the Blue Jackets their first true identity as a hockey franchise. He was the player fans remembered, the reason the team felt different from the other expansion clubs. His speed, his finishing, his competitive fire — these became the DNA of what Columbus hockey felt like in the mid-2000s. Even after his departure, the team's identity was measured against what Nash represented: a franchise that had a star and believed it could compete. That belief, planted in 2004, is the seed from which everything else grew.
Did You Know?
- Rick Nash was the first player ever drafted with the #1 overall pick in Columbus Blue Jackets franchise history, a distinction that made his arrival a defining moment for the young organization.
- His 2006–07 season, in which he scored 44 goals, is widely regarded as the peak of the Blue Jackets' first competitive era and the season that cemented his status as a top-five NHL scorer.
- Nash's signature one-timer from the circle became so iconic that opposing goalies would often shift their positioning specifically to account for his release angle, a rare adjustment for a single player.
- After his trade to the New York Rangers in 2015, Nash later played for the Vancouver Canucks, but for Columbus fans, his #87 remains inextricably linked to the Blue Jackets' formative years.